It’s way, way WAY in the future, and human beings are pretty much everywhere. The mighty Galactic Empire controls millions of inhabited worlds, and governs incalcuable numbers of human lives. The Emperor rules, with the help of his aristocrats, and things seem pretty hunky dorey.
Spoiler Alert: They’re not.
Hari Seldon, a psychohistorian (not a ‘crazy historian’, like I originally read it, but a historian who can predict the course of history thanks to insights into human psychology) has put his considerable skills to work and has discovered that the Galactic Empire is doomed: within 500 years even the capital will fall, and the galaxy will enter a grim 3000 centuries of barbarism. Or course, everyone believes Seldon to be nuts…everyone, that is, save a few hundred dedicated acolytes. With the help of these trusting folks, Seldon puts one hell of an ambitious plan into motion…he will create the Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving human culture. Basing itself on the frontiers of the Empire, the Foundation prepares to hunker down and weather the next few centuries. If all goes according to Seldon’s plan, the Foundation will not only be a lonely enclave of well-meaning scientists…it will be the seed that sprouts into a Second Empire. Of course, Seldon won’t be around to see how his plan works out, but he has left some handy videos of himself to guide his ancestors through the storms of chaotic history…
So FOUNDATION is considered one of the great novels of mid-twentieth century Science Fiction. It inspired two sequels, is oft quoted by other notable authors, and remains much beloved after nearly 70 years in print. That’s no mean accomplishment. I just wish, as a reader, it wasn’t so very much of its time. Like many SF novels of the 50s, FOUNDATION is in fact an anthology: a collection of short stories with a linking theme, cobbled together after years of being published seperately. While this raises a few problems (characters dominate and then vanish, decades pass between chapters leaving the readers struggling to catch up on the new universal order) it wouldn’t necessarily be fatal (there are several other books of this type which I quite like…see any collection by Cordwainer Smith). It doesn’t help however that Asimov is not the best writer in terms of creating fascinating characters…most of our heroes are variations on the ‘indefatigable man uses bravery and raw scientific prowess to overcome all obstacles’ trope. It has its place, but the use of the trope several times within a single (relatively short) novel does tend to expose Asimov’s limitations. Oh, and I do mean ‘man’…I think a woman has a few lines at one point, and she’s complaining about how much of a wuss her husband is. Or she’s admiring some new techno-jewlery. Or both. There aren’t…there really aren’t any…it’s an all boys club, this book.
The central idea of the book is fascinating, and Hari Seldon, for the brief time he’s about, is a very intriquing character. I do understand that the novel’s tale is meant to be a long one, developed over the next two installments…I suppose the worst thing I can say about FOUNDATION is that it really didn’t inspire me to seek out those installments. Me like books.
Me Like Books 